No instant cure for obesity

Published on Tuesday 25 March 2008 21:47

OBESITY in Scotland has reached epidemic proportions over the past two decades, affecting nearly a quarter of adult men and women. The result is 500,000 cases of high blood pressure annually, and 30,000 cases of type 2 diabetes. The situation is set to get worse, as one in five young boys in Scotland and more than one in ten girls are obese – double the UK average.

However, the obesity epidemic has produced a dangerous side effect – the growing and costly use of drugs to combat the condition. According to the latest Scottish Government statistics, nearly 10,000 obese adults are being prescribed drugs to suppress their appetite or prevent the body absorbing fat. The bill to NHS Scotland is five times higher than it was in 2001 and rose by another 750,000 last year.

No-one doubts that drugs can be useful as part of a total treatment for obesity. But on their own they are not enough.

For a permanent solution, obese patients need to be helped to address their eating behaviour rather than just lose weight. There is also the danger that anti-obesity drugs become an easy (if expensive) clinical remedy for a hard-pressed NHS. And it should be remembered that the drugs have significant side effects, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate.

We have to tackle the obesity epidemic, but there is no chemical magic bullet.